Before Monday night, it had been 322 days since Filip Hallander suited up in a Penguins jersey after being diagnosed with a blood clot last November and missing most of the 2025-26 season.
After a long road to recovery, Hallander has been cleared to play and was in the lineup for Pittsburgh’s first preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres.
“It feels normal in one way, but at the same time, looking back at it, you wanted this moment to come, and now it’s here. You’re not taking it for granted,” Hallander said, who had a team-high five shots on goal. “Obviously, you want to play good, show up for yourself, and for your teammates. It’s hard to take it in, but it was great to be out there and happy to get the win.”
Hallander was able to train and be on the ice throughout his rehabilitation, which helped take his mind off the stress that came with the situation.
“I think the unknown part is getting the results and never knowing if it’s good or bad, and that part is probably the worst to wait and see,” Hallander said. “Of course, we didn’t really know if it was going to be good or bad. I think through this whole process, these months (of training) have been kind of the getaway part.”
When the blood clot was first discovered, Hallander was expected to miss a minimum of three months. In February, he was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a conditioning stint but was limited to just three games.
“I kind of just hit a setback after a week there, and we made the decision to shut it down for the season,” Hallander said. “I mean, that was probably the hardest part after coming back for a couple of months. In the end, it has all worked out.”
Towards the back half of last season, Hallander was at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex daily, working closely with trainers both on and off the ice. Spending the summer in his hometown of Sweden, he was able to resume taking contact a month ago, just in time for training camp.
“The attitude that he came in with every day was absolutely remarkable,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. “Remarkable. So, for him to be back in camp, he's obviously skating at a high level, he looks great. It's huge. I think there's a lot of people out there, too, given a situation like that, they wouldn't have really attacked it the way he did. So, I'm excited for him.”
The road to recovery was a lot different compared to other injuries that Hallander has faced throughout his career.
“It’s hard because if you have an injury that you rehab – a knee or a shoulder – you feel fully good to go, almost better than you did before,” Hallander said. “That’s kind of the mental phase. You feel normal, but at the same time you’re not. That’s probably the hardest thing to deal with because it’s so different than any other type of injury.”
Originally drafted by the Penguins in the second round (58th overall) in 2018, Hallander returned home to play two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League. After establishing SHL career highs in goals (26), assists (27) and points (53), Hallander returned to North America and signed a two-year contract with Pittsburgh on April 29, 2025.
Hallander made the opening-night roster that fall and got off to a strong start before facing the adversity that he did. Now that he’s back in the fold, the hope is that Hallander can pick up around where he left off.
“We saw a player that has two-way potential, really good defensively, great stick,” Penguins Assistant General Manager Jason Spezza said. “It's hard to miss the amount of time that he's had, so it'll be great to see him throughout camp here. We'd like to have him become an NHL full-time player, and I think he has that expectation of himself. Definitely a guy that I think will provide some great competition throughout our lineup.”
After everything Hallander has gone through, he’s at training camp with a new mindset.
“I think I have something that a lot of people don’t have – I was close to getting everything, this, taken away from me,” Hallander said. “I feel happy being out there every time. No one is more motivated and hungrier than me.”
